


The Road to Recovery

by HazelNMae



Series: Tommy and Alfie [1]
Category: Peaky Blinders (TV)
Genre: Aftermath of Violence, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-14
Updated: 2019-07-14
Packaged: 2020-06-27 20:45:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 653
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19797448
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HazelNMae/pseuds/HazelNMae





	The Road to Recovery

**Author's Note:**

  * For [anicelemonpie](https://archiveofourown.org/users/anicelemonpie/gifts).



He’d never experienced pain quite like this.

Tommy had been in plenty of fights; experienced a number of broken bones; punches to the gut; black eyes; had even had his skull cracked once during a particularly dark time with his Russian dealings. But he’d never been shot. Not until tonight.

He heard footsteps enter the sterile washroom. He’d just left a negotiation and unexpected loss with the Americans, and stopped off in the restroom to splash water on his face and gather his bearings.

Tommy didn’t deal well with loss. Alfie had warned him, time and again, that he’d one day be put in his place. But despite the advice, Tommy continued to act as if he were indestructible. 

It’d never really fazed him before–he’d always considered his life after the war as “extra time.” That is, of course, until he met Alfie.

That man. God. That man with his strong arms, kind eyes, rambling stories, crazy ideas. That man had changed everything. 

And today, standing in that washroom and considering the unexpected shift in plans, Tommy finally admitted to himself that Alfie had changed it all. For the first time in his life, Tommy let fear win. 

He looked into the mirror, taking in his reflection. It was time. It was time to tell Alfie how he felt. That’d he’d given up fighting–it was no use, he was helplessly in love–and that every decision from here on out would be made with and for the two of them.

He stood a little straighter, adjusted his tie, dried off his hands, and reached into his pocket for his cell phone. He’d arrange to meet Alfie before he left London. He’d tell him over a romantic dinner, perhaps. 

As he scrolled through the contacts in his phone, the smile widening on his face, he heard the footsteps. 

The next thing he remembered was waking in the hospital. He opened his eyes fully and took in the scene around him. The hospital room was standard enough (he’d been in plenty), but he didn’t fully understand where he was until he felt the unrelenting pain in his gut. It was sharp, and deep. If he didn’t know better, he’d think it stretched straight through the bed and into the floor below him. His eyes squeezed so tight that all he could see was the blinding, white light behind his eyelids. 

Fuck. He thought. This is it.

Out of reflex, and based on previous experience, he fumbled for the small remote under his right hand. He hit the call button as many times as he could in rapid succession. 

The nurse who entered his room only needed to see his eyes to understand. Morphine. Stat.

But the pain went away, almost instantly, when Tommy looked over her shoulder and saw him. 

Alfie.

Tommy’s mind flashed back instantly. He remembered leaning against the wall in the restroom, scrambling to find his phone. When he spotted it, and mustered the strength to reach it a few feet away, Alfie had been who he’d called. Not emergency services. Not Arthur, who sat just outside in the hallway waiting for him. Alfie.

Alfie. The love of his life. 

And he’d come. 

Alfie entered the room, ordered the nurse out–after she’d administered the morphine–and took in the sight of Tommy, lying helpless and in pain just out of reach. 

Despite his pain, or maybe in spite of it, Tommy smiled. 

And with that, Alfie melted.

With one quick step, he crossed the room, took Tommy’s face in his broad, strong hands, and planted the kiss on his lips that they’d both only dreamed of. Soft and comforting, but strong and full of heat. They broke only for breath. 

Alfie stroked his cheek and Tommy, letting the morphine kick in now, closed his eyes. Finally at peace. 

“It’s alright, love. I’m here,” Alfie said.

And Tommy believed him.


End file.
